Doting parents Neven and Amelda ‘can’t ask for anymore’ than their healthy twins

Celebrity chef Neven Maguire and wife Amelda have ruled out having any more children because of the health risk.

Amelda suffered heart failure last February — a few days after she gave birth to the couple’s first children, twins Connor and Lucia.

She has since made a full recovery and looked a picture of happiness and health in a TV interview on RTÉ’s Saturday Night With Miriam, alongside her husband and five-month-old twins.

And although she admitted she would love to add to the brood, she said doctors have advised her against having any more children.

“I would love to [have more children], but unfortunately the only long-term result of my condition was that they didn’t recommend it.

“But we’ve one of each, so we can’t ask for any more.”

In what was the couple’s first television interview since the birth of the twins at Sligo General Hospital, Amelda said the most painful memory was having to be separated from her new-born babies when she was rushed to a coronary care unit.

She had developed a rare condition called postpartum cardiomyopathy.

The pregnancy-related disorder caused her heart to become enlarged.

In Amelda’s case, the condition caused insufficient blood to be pumped around her body, causing fluid to build up in her lungs and leaving her struggling to breathe, in severe pain, and unable to sleep for days.

To add to the couple’s distress, the twins — who were four weeks premature and delivered by caesarian section — were separated for about a week when Lucia — who did not take to the bottle — was placed in a special care unit.

Amelda said during her terrifying ordeal, Neven would appear at her bedside with videos he had taken of their babies, but she refused to look at them because she was too upset.

But both parents stressed that five months later, life could not be any better.

Proud father Neven, who is a twin himself, said: “I look forward to coming home every day to see the twins.”

But the 38-year-old, who is as busy as ever running his award-winning restaurant, MacNean House in Blacklion, Co Cavan, admitted there is no time to put his feet up once he finishes work.

“I’ve never cooked at home as much as I have in the last five months,” he said laughing.

The affable Cavan chef was recently ‘knighted’ for his support of artisan producers by the elaborately-named French food guardians, Commanderie des Fins Goustiers du Duché d’Alençon.

And he also recently finished writing a new cookbook, due out in October.

The publication will contain the much sought-after recipes of his restaurant’s most popular dishes.